How much does it need to cost for two adults to spend a month traveling around Europe? In 2018 we visited Europe for about a month. We mostly stayed in Airbnb’s and spent a few nights staying with friends in Copenhagen. We visited Paris, Cordoba, Granada, Nimes, Rome, and the Rhine River in Germany. We traveled by train. Train travel in Europe is so luxurious. You can just sit in a cozy seat with a table and eat sandwiches and drink wine. Look out the window and watch the castles drift by as you travel at incredibly high speeds. We brought a picnic cooler bag with us and it was always filled with wine, olives, and sandwich ingredients. We would stock up at the grocery store before heading to our next destination. I love grocery shopping on the road; you get to buy the juiciest fruit and the most interesting looking cheese and the freshest yummiest bread.
It was Mr. Nerd’s first time in Europe so we felt like we needed to get a good overview of Western Europe. We didn’t get to all the places we want to go but we’ve got the rest of our lives for that. I had been a couple of times and knew a few places that I enjoy and knew the places that I really wanted Mr. Nerd to see- Italy mostly. And we got to go to a handful of places that were new to me- and are now some of my favorite places in the world- Granada and Germany’s Rhine River.
So how much did all this luxury and incredible experience cost us in dollars? Including our Flights from Hawaii to LAX and LAX to Copenhagen, our Eurail Passes, accommodation, food, drinks, and visits to museums and such, it was a total of $4,959. We even stayed in a castle. The single most expensive cost was the flight from Hawaii- most Americans can completely forgo this extra $1130 dollars (for two people). So flying from LA directly our trip would have cost $3,829 for two people for a whole month of travel.
I always learn so much when I’m traveling. I think the biggest lesson is that there are so many ways to live a good life. City or country, young or old, rich or poor, there are so many ways to have a meaningful and joyful life. Owning a big house, a shiny new car, and an iphone aren’t necessary for a good life. We don’t realize all the unnamed expectations that our cultures put on us until we go to new places and the expectations are different. For me a good life is having deep and meaningful connections with the people around me, having a safe place to sleep at night, eating great food, learning about the world, and spending time in nature. Iphone shmyphone. How does it cost seven hundred dollars for a phone?
